Newly crowned A2 division champion Eastern is "set to shake up the local basketball scene" by devoting HK$10M ($1.3M) to become the first professional team in Hong Kong, according to Chan Kin-wa of the SOUTH CHINA MORNING POST. Unbeaten in the league this season, Eastern, which also has a football team in the Premier League, will be "promoted to the top tier next year to take on heavyweights such as South China and Winling." Coach Tam Wai-yeung said that the team was not only "aiming at breaking the decade-long rivalry between South China and Winling, but also setting sights on the regional Asia Champions Cup." Tam said, "Our plans will be to build the strongest force in domestic basketball and then set foot in regional competitions, just like another Hong Kong side Regal did in the 1990s." Lee Wai-lun, who was a young member of Regal and is now the assistant director of Eastern, said that Hong Kong basketball has "made little progress since." Lee: "Many of our Asian counterparts have already started professional leagues but we are falling far behind. ... Eastern will be a full professional side. Players will have to give up their regular jobs but will be rewarded with monthly salaries for the whole year" (SCMP, 7/9).
